Kate McClymont, Michaela Whitbourn

Explosive documents tendered at a corruption inquiry suggest former Labor minister Joe Tripodi and his colleague Eric Roozendaal abandoned government policy to support Nathan Tinkler's billion-dollar plans for a coal terminal.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption heard on Tuesday that Mr Tripodi, then a Labor backbencher, was flown to Newcastle in Mr Tinkler's helicopter to meet executives from the coal mogul's company Buildev in November 2010.

Internal Buildev notes reveal the company was plotting with Mr Tripodi to get government support for a $1 billion coal terminal in the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield.

Mr Tripodi's colleague, the then Newcastle MP Jodi McKay, supported the government-approved policy for a container terminal to be built on the Mayfield site, but Buildev wanted this stopped at all costs.

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''Joe – going to get Eric to stop Anglo deal going to board this Thursday,'' the internal Buildev notes said, in a reference to the rival proposal backed by Ms McKay.

The note went so far as to suggest that Mr Roozendaal, then NSW treasurer, would seize control of the land and insist that a deal was done with Buildev.

The inquiry has also heard that in October 2010 Mr Roozendaal met with Buildev executives.

Departmental documents reveal that officials were worried Mr Roozendaal's support for Buildev's proposal would ''involve a departure from the NSW government-approved direction for the development of the Mayfield site''.

Seated at the back of the ICAC hearing room on Tuesday was Mr Roozendaal, who now works for a Chinese property developer. He and Mr Tripodi are expected to give evidence in coming weeks.

Ms McKay sensationally told the commission in May that after rejecting an attempt by Mr Tinkler to bribe her into supporting his coal terminal, she received a call from Mr Roozendaal, displeased with her rebuffing the coal magnate.

Ms McKay said later that same day a document from Mr Roozendaal’s department, which undermined the viability of the container terminal, was leaked to the Newcastle Herald.

In other evidence, Mr Tripodi's close friend Vince Fedele, a printer, was questioned about the former Labor powerbroker's involvement in an anonymous smear campaign against Ms McKay in the weeks before the March 2011 election. She narrowly lost the seat to the now disgraced former Liberal MP Tim Owen.

The campaign involved 10,000 ''Stop Jodi's Trucks'' leaflets being distributed, which falsely suggested that the lives of Mayfield residents would be ruined by 1000 trucks a day rattling through their neighbourhood to service the container terminal.

The inquiry heard Mr Tripodi was even involved in the ''process of layout and suggesting colours'' for the leaflets.

Mr Fedele said that Mr Tripodi asked him to ''try to keep me out of it'' when journalists started asking questions about his involvement in the leaflets.

''Joe was pretty much involved in the whole process,'' he said.

ICAC has heard that the anti-McKay campaign was funded by Mr Tinkler's company Buildev. Property developers are banned from making political donations in NSW under laws passed in 2009.

It is also illegal to distribute anonymous campaign material after the writs for an election are issued.

Mr Fedele said that he was told to make out the $9000 invoice for the flyers to ''Darren'' – a reference to Buildev co-owner Darren Williams – but he did not know who this was.

Ms McKay broke down in the witness box earlier this year after she learned that Mr Tripodi and Buildev were the likely source of the flyers.